Most homeowners report that they can hear their house creaking every now and then. These noises can come from what is called "settling." Because the majority of homes are constructed from wood products, the infrastructure will experience movements as the moisture content in the wood rises and falls, swells, expands and contracts.
These movements will cause minor cosmetic issues such as small cracks above doors or between floorboards. The same settling will occur in the roof trusses or stick built support structure, attic joists, or ridgeline beam and cause the cracking or popping noises homeowners report hearing. Even though these sounds can be perfectly normal, it is never a bad idea to explore the situation to ensure all is well with the roof. A consultation with a Sugar Land roofing company can clear up any issues in this situation.
Extreme cold spells can dramatically increase the frequency and volume of the pops coming from the roof, which homeowners may mistake for gunshot or firework noises. Roofs are typically exposed to both a warm environment and a cold one at the same time. During the winter, the wood on the inside of the attic is warm and the wood on the outside, even though it is beneath the shingles, is in closer proximity to the cooler outside temperature.
Therefore, the colder portion of the wood typically shrinks while the warmer side remains stable.
The roofing contractors from Houston Restoration Services of Sugar Land TX can answer any questions about storm damage or commercial roofing.
Roof structures are designed to be quite rigid and resist any movement whatsoever, as are the fasteners, nails or screws, although they allow a small amount of expansion. When portions of the roof support system contracts quickly due to extreme cold, it exerts an extreme amount of pressure, causing slippage within the joints. When that pressure is then released, a loud popping sound results. Roof systems are built with these conditions in mind and can usually withstand these forces. The sounds may be alarming, but the effects are not serious.
Another less likely problem, but one that bears investigating, is the possibility of an ice dam on the roof. If a home's gutters are not working properly due to clogging or other problems, water from melting snow and ice cannot drain and will refreeze when temperatures drop at night, causing an ice dam to form. As the ice builds, it will push up under the shingles, causing them to become loose and to allow melting ice to leak into the attic. An ice dam is a serious problem and one that requires attention right away. While most popping noises, on the other hand, are not serious, every situation should be investigated thoroughly.
